Well, in my area, Asians are a very large percentage of the population. Many of them were born in this country. However, I feel that what may hold some Asians back in terms of the Writing SAT II is the frequent use of unacceptable grammar and diction, which often occurs often in the home.

I know one individual who deliberately uses poor grammar and uses a special accent when speaking in English to his family. He recieved his Writing SAT II score back, and was extremely disappointed. There is no doubt in my mind that this weakness in writing was due in part to the way he speaks with his family.

Also, in addition to the simplification or alteration of standard spoken English is just one potential cause. Some Asians that I know do not speak English at all in the home. They speak entirely in their native language, with certain English words inserted infrequently. This also surely cannot facilitate the proper development of grammar skills and writing abilities.

Also, many Asians in my area seem to downplay the importance of the humanities and instead focus almost exclusively on the sciences. Many Asians in my area have expressed feelings that the humanities are unimportant and not worth their time. I have read the writing of some individuals with this attitude, and it is certainly far worse than the quality of writing produced by those with a more open attitude.

Any Asians who read this, please don't take it as offensive. It's just a personal opinion, and an observation I've made locally. It may or may not hold true for your area or for other areas.

I are Asian (American Born Chinese) and I have score 800 on writing. I never expected it, and it came as a total shock today. Last month when I took it, I got 660, but this time I bought the Kaplan writing book and worked only on the multiple choice and got 800!

I guess I'm disappointing then, I got a 50 on the writing part of PSAT. I haven't taken the SAT II Writing yet, but I'd probably score low on that too. I plan to take next year. Any tips that would help me study would greatly be appreciated.

and i recently went on a cruise...this Caucasian lady behind me was making snide comments about how the crew had to announce things 3 times because "some people (ahem) might not understand" (obviously taking a jab at my family and myself) and i wanted to turn around and pummel her and yell out that I was probably better at her at English and grammar. i hate it when people are like that.

Joey: Well, I live *in* Asia, and your generalizations do not hold true for the asians in my - perhaps larger - area : ).

"Some Asians that I know do not speak English at all in the home. They speak entirely in their native language, with certain English words inserted infrequently." fancy that - asians speaking their native language. *gasp shock and horror*